Kunqu Opera, the most elegant Chinese opera has a sad fate too, which has propelled local playwright Zhao Yaoming to write "Good Times, Beautiful Scenes."

The play follows the story of a Kunqu opera family: Wu Yijiao, as an 80-year-old patriarch, was a famous Kunqu opera singer who wanted his three sons to pass down the art, but to his disappointment, his first son has no talent for Kunqu while his second son has no interest in it and his youngest son is handicapped. He has no other choice but to take a girl from the countryside and teach her the art, but at last, he is forced to marry her because of his love for the art...

Directed by Lei Guohua, the play combines dream and reality. The whole play is narrated by the third son Jin Li, who acts as a clue that threads up the whole play.

"It reflects the predicament of the traditional art in modern society," Lei said. "As an art, it needs to be appreciated, but as something dying, few people will love it."

The second son is a rebel who hates Kunqu Opera although he once performed on stage. In order to run away from the family, he goes to the US and makes a fortune there.

"The second son stands for the young people who love everything modern," commented Zhao. "They always know what they should do in this society."

Zhao gained fame over the past 10 years through his plays including "Genius and Lunatic," " Original Sin," "Last Dream of the Century" and "Pop Singer and Gorilla."

(Shanghai Star 04/16/2001)